Skip to main content
Wednesday, November 11, 2026Nov 11
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

White House officials, lawmakers to tour border facility

A migrant man, center, holds a child as he looks at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent at an intake area after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, early Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in Roma, Texas. A surge of migrants on the Southwest border has the Biden administration on the defensive. The head of Homeland Security acknowledged the severity of the problem but insisted it's under control and said he won't revive a Trump-era practice of immediately expelling teens and children. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A migrant man, center, holds a child as he looks at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent at an intake area after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, early Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in Roma, Texas. A surge of migrants on the Southwest border has the Biden administration on the defensive. The head of Homeland Security acknowledged the severity of the problem but insisted it's under control and said he won't revive a Trump-era practice of immediately expelling teens and children. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) A migrant man, center, holds a child as he looks at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent at an intake area after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, early Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in Roma, Texas. A surge of migrants on the Southwest border has the Biden administration on the defensive. The head of Homeland Security acknowledged the severity of the problem but insisted it's under control and said he won't revive a Trump-era practice of immediately expelling teens and children. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

By JONATHAN LEMIRE, NOMAAN MERCHANT and JOSH BOAK / Associated Press 4 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – A delegation of White House officials and members of Congress was traveling to the southern border on Wednesday to tour a facility being used to house migrant children as increasing numbers of unaccompanied young people cross into the United States.

The visit to a facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, comes as the Biden administration faces a growing humanitarian and political challenge at the U.S.-Mexico border that threatens to overshadow its ambitious legislative agenda.

President Joe Biden also was meeting with key Cabinet members and immigration officials on Wednesday as he faces pressure to address the situation.

More than 750 teenagers are being held at Carrizo Springs. Like other facilities operated by the Health and Human Services Department, it includes a small group of children who have tested positive for COVID-19, potentially having contracted the virus in Border Patrol custody. They are placed in isolation.

The Biden administration has in recent weeks rushed to open more sites for children operated by HHS. It announced Tuesday that it would open a second site in Carrizo Springs. The convention center in San Diego will also open to teenagers, and HHS is exploring housing teenagers at military bases in San Antonio and El Paso, Texas.